You Went Away - Timothy Findly

one sentence summary:
a woman struggles to keep from falling apart during WWII

review:
this is a beautiful work, short and with no wasted words. The emotions it dragged me through were more than enough to last a life time. There was so much tragedy and love expressed in the short work it was amazing that Findly could express his story with such flow and consistency (not to mention beautiful prose). It is a really short read, just go read it.

9/10

Darkness Series - Harry Turtledove

one sentence summary:
WWII with dragons and magic instead of tanks and bullets.

review:
this idea was very good but the novels were far to long and drawn out. I enjoyed parts of them but other parts were nearly boring. The romantic side to the story was terribly written, but the one conniving bitch character was really well done. For the most part the solder and general characters were interchangeable and didn't really have much texture. I wouldn't recommend these UNLESS you love LOTR and also enjoy detailed military fiction.

5/10

The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan

one sentence summary:
the relationships between friends and mothers and daughters... basically all about female relationships.

review:
not a great work of literature, but a great story of our time. With a lot of drama and some not so happy endings this novel is well worth reading for all of the girls in our society. An interesting look at a segment of the immigrant culture in the USA, the Chinese immigrants of the 1940's in this novel were a lot of fun to read about and the information that the novel tells us about them is good to know. This is a very emotional (but well written) read, full of ups and downs.

6/10

The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay

one sentence summary:
The story of a white boy growing up in South Africa in the 1930s-1950s

review:
A very beautifully written description of South Africa, the main character is less than relatable for me but the background plot and details are more than enough to make up for the unlikeableness of the protagonist. The novel is unnecessarily long but the writing makes good use of the extra pages with beautiful pores and a pounding plot. The characters do develop with the continuing plot so that makes it a more enjoyable read that many novels of the same girth. I recommend it to anyone interested in that era world history.

8/10

Winter Garden - Kristin Hannah

one sentence summary:
two middle aged sisters are very different from each other but both want what is best for their elderly mother.

review:
Kristin Hannah is really really good at writing family dramas, full of adversity and love, this is no exception (in fact this is my favourite of all of the books by her I have read). The novel is split between current time Sitka Alaska and Russia during WWII. The characters are two sisters (American born) and their elderly mother (a Russian immigrant). The prose are very well done, well developed characters and descriptions of the setting that may make you want to head on up to Alaska on your next vacation. The depiction of love in this novel is so well done it could even force the most unfeeling people to realize how much other people matter to them. Be warned you may end up in tears more than once. I recommend this to anyone who has emotions, it is like a cleanse for the soul.

8/10

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne

one sentence summary:
from very different parts of WWII society two boys become friends.

review:
This is a wonderful "children's book", written so a fourth grader could easily read it on their own it touches on some very grown up concepts. The concepts in this book would make it both a wonderful and terrible class read. This story made me sob, literally sob, while it is an easy read as far as vocabulary goes it is anything but when it comes to the story. I recommend everyone read it (as an adult it shouldn't take more than a few hours) but be warned it will make you feel.

8/10
8/10

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

one sentence summary;
there was a lot of death during WWII

review:
This is a beautifully written, terribly depressing story. This is geared to young adults, but I would say adults might get more out of it. A fascinating look at WWII told by an ingenious narrator showing us a side of the war we don't often see. I highly recommend this book to everyone, keeping in mind that it is not a quick read.

8/10

Half Blood Blues - Esi Edugyan

One Sentence Summary:
1940 Paris, a Black German citizen arrested and never seen again, 60 years later he is being honoured for his contribution to jazz.


Review:
I enjoyed this book, the story is told from the perspective of an elderly black man reflecting on his past as a jazz musician in Paris in the 1930-40's.  I loved all of the characters and enjoyed the perspective it was written with. I learned quite a bit about what it was like to be black in Europe in the lead up to and beginning of WWII. A read that is well worth it.

8/10

Notable Quotes:

"Folks think a lifetime is a thing stretched out over years. It ain't. It can happen quick as a match in a dark room."

"It's like that, I guess, when the past come to collect what you owe."

"I guess mercy is a muscle like any other. You got to exercise it, or it just cramp right up."

"The cabbie's eyes sort of glazed over. Canada kills any conversation quick, I learned long ago. It's a little trick of mine."

If you enjoyed this you should read:

Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
The Help - Kathryn Stockett To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

Three Day Road - Joseph Boyden

One Sentence Summary: 

An aboriginal Canadian returns from WWI addicted to morphine and relates his story to a tribe elder as he detoxes and they paddle back to their tribe. 

Review:

This is a heart wrenching look at trench warfare and the plight of aboriginal soldiers during WWI. Boyden does such a wonderful (terrifying) job of depicting WWI at times I seriously contemplated that he may be a time traveler as it was so close to a first hand account. As the protagonist struggles for sanity the setting flashes back and forth from the war to his detox. The war scenes are so gripping that they may give you nightmares. I do not recommend it as before bed reading that said you may not be able to put it down. 

9/10

Notable Quotes:

“In school, it got so that Elijah learned to talk his way out of anything, gave great long speeches so that his words snaked themselves like vines around the nuns until they could no longer move”

If you enjoyed this you should read:

All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

Johnny Got His Gun - Dalton Trumbo  

Atonement - Ian McEwan 

Night After Day - Anita Diamant

This novel introduced me to an new aspect of an era I have read a lot about. I had very little idea about what life was like for holocaust survivors fleeing to Palestine, I knew that many had gone there after the war hoping for a better life but had no idea what happened once they got there. As I grew to care for the characters I wanted to know more about them that Anita Diamant wrote in the novel. I think it would have been a stronger story if she had included more of the back story of the main characters rather than the rough sketches she gave (I also would totally read a follow up book if one was ever written to find out what happened to the girls after the end of the story as it wasn't really the end, rather just a new beginning...which also annoyed me a bit). Still she did a very good job of showing how the camps were run as well as the Kibbutz and made me want to know more about this subject. If you have interest in WWII and don't recognize the word Kibbutz I recommend this book, also if you are interested in Jewish history or just are looking for a good post-war story.

7/10 (Historical - Post-WWII Palestine Internment Camp)

If you enjoyed this book I would recommend:

Night - Elie Wiesle (warning: you will cry WWII biography)
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd (strong female relationships)
The Magdalene Line Series - Kathleen McGowan (this one I am not sure about, has strong female lead, Christianity and controversy...not sure but I liked it and I normally thumb my nose at religious stuff so I am going out on a limb with this recommendation...)